New programme by EDF Energy – PrettyCurious – aims to change teenage girls’ perceptions of science and inspire them to pursue science-based careers.
  • Research commissioned by EDF Energy reveals that 32% of girls aged between 11 and 16 do not think they are clever enough to become a scientist
  • Boys are five times more likely than girls to want to be engineers, despite evidence that many girls enjoy science at school
  • Results demonstrate a lack of female role models in science careers with less than a third of girls knowing a woman that works in a science or engineering-based job
  • EDF Energy is working with Liz Bonnin, Florence Adepoju, Jenny Griffiths and its own employees, to provide inspirational role models for young girls in the UK.
A new study1 released today by EDF Energy, to mark the launch of its PrettyCurious campaign, has found that a third (32%) of girls in the UK aged 11 to 16 don’t think they are smart enough to become a scientist. That’s despite science being one of the subjects they enjoyed most (28%) and performed best in at school (38%) over the past academic year2.
 
Many girls are not taking their passion and aptitude for science-based subjects beyond school and don’t see its relevance to their careers, with boys the same age five times more likely to want to pursue a career in engineering (20% vs. 4%). As well as worrying they aren’t smart enough to be a scientist, other barriers for girls are revealed to be;
  • That they are unsure what they can do with a science qualification (17%)
  • They feel they are too creative to go into science (15%)
  • They believe companies who employ scientists would prefer to employ men (13%)
The study reveals young girls also have a lack of visible role models, with less than one in three (29%) knowing a female relative, friend, family friend or other women that work in a science and engineering-based job. Within their wider sphere of influence, the girls surveyed primarily named males when asked to name an inspirational scientist, with only Marie Curie (12%) and Rosalind Franklin (1%) featuring in the top ten, after Stephen Hawking (21%) and Albert Einstein (18%).
 
The EDF Energy PrettyCurious campaign
 
The research, carried out by YouGov1, was commissioned to mark the launch of EDF Energy’s PrettyCurious programme, which will introduce teenage girls to role models they can identify with, who each have varied and rewarding careers in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM). These include:
  • Liz Bonnin: biochemist, wild animal biologist & TV presenter
  • Jenny Griffiths: computer scientist, founder & CEO of fashion app SNAP Fashion
  • Florence Adepoju: cosmetic scientist and founder of makeup brand MDMflow
  • EDF Energy’s own female employees including Bethany Thomas, a reactor chemistry engineer
EDF Energy has collaborated with these role models to create engaging content that demonstrates to teenage girls the breadth of career opportunities available to them and inspires them to pursue science-based subjects at school. Commenting on EDF Energy’s PrettyCurious programme, Liz Bonnin said:
 
“Both girls and boys enjoy and show great aptitude in STEM subjects at school but at some point many girls seem to disengage with them. There is no area of our lives that isn’t affected by science meaning that there’s a STEM subject and career out there for everyone, whether you’re analytical or more creative. It’s important that we support today’s young people, nurturing their curiosity, encouraging them to pursue their passion and find the right fit for them, so that in the future they can embark on fulfilling and exciting careers and help shape the world around them.”
 
Fiona Jackson, Head of Strategic Resourcing at EDF Energy, said: “Young women are struggling to understand how they can apply that passion to their future careers and lack real-life examples of women that work in exciting and stimulating professions. Our PrettyCurious campaign will inspire girls to consider a science-based career and help to improve their career options. It’s part of a long-term commitment from EDF Energy to improve the ratio of women to men in the company as well as inspire 100,000 young people into science.”

 
Helen Wollaston, Director of WiSE added: “This is a great campaign to overcome the psychological barriers which stop so many girls from ever thinking they might want to pursue a STEM career. We have to show how STEM relates to things which they care about, give them a chance to meet women close to their own age who love what they do to spark their interest and enthusiasm and then support them to make the first step towards a career in science, technology, engineering or maths. I hope that WISE and EDF Energy will combine forces to reach girls across the UK.”
 
The PrettyCurious programme will also inspire teenage girls by creating hands-on experiences and EDF Energy will pilot a series of events across the UK later this year. These one-day sessions will challenge young girls to create a life-size ‘smart’ bedroom using ‘Littlebits’ electronic kits. A digital version of these sessions will also be available for girls to access at any time from the PrettyCurious microsite and workshops will be held at EDF Energy’s nuclear power station visitor centres across the country.
 
A film about the campaign will also launch online and in cinemas across the UK later this autumn. For more information about the EDF Energy PrettyCurious campaign, please visit www.edfenergy.com/prettycurious